E18: Data Tool Disruption: Barry McCardel on Building Hex
Nov 27, 2023
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Barry McCardel, Co-Founder and CEO of Hex, shares insights on building Hex, emphasizing design, rapid feature development, and scaling challenges. He discusses the future of data tooling and emerging trends in data, infrastructure, and AI.
Hex aims to simplify and integrate data workflows, becoming an integrated front end for the data stack, providing users with a comprehensive solution to manage and analyze data effectively.
Building a strong and complementary team is crucial when starting a company, and design plays a crucial role in differentiating and improving user experiences in software tools.
Deep dives
Barry McCartill's Journey to Excellence as a Founder and CEO
Barry McCartill, the co-founder and CEO of Hex, shares his journey as a founder and CEO. He discusses his experiences in leading teams during high school and college, which primed him for entrepreneurship. McCartill also describes his background in data analysis and the pain points he experienced with fragmented data workflows. This led to the founding of Hex, which aims to simplify and integrate data analysis workflows, becoming an integrated front end for the data stack. The vision of Hex goes beyond being just a data analysis tool and focuses on unifying workflows and saving customers both time and money.
The Key Insight Behind Hex: Simplifying Data Workflows
Barry McCartill shares the key insight behind the creation of Hex. As someone with a background in using and building data tools, McCartill realized the pain points of fragmented data workflows. Despite the existence of various data tools, he noticed the lack of a unified solution for diverse data workflows. McCartill and his co-founders saw an opportunity to create the product they always wished they had during their careers. Hex aims to simplify and integrate data workflows, providing users with a comprehensive solution to manage and analyze data effectively.
Building a Strong Founding Team: The Birth of Hex
Barry McCartill discusses the formation of the founding team at Hex. He explains how he and his co-founder Glenn recognized the problem and shared a vision for solving it. McCartill's previous work experience with Kaitlin further solidified his belief that she would be a valuable addition to the team. The three co-founders came together, combining their expertise and experiences to tackle the challenge of simplifying data workflows. McCartill emphasizes the importance of building a strong and complementary team when starting a company.
The Importance of Design in Building Hex
Barry McCartill highlights the significance of design in building Hex. He shares his passion for design, which originated from his experiences organizing college concerts and speakers. McCartill believes that design plays a crucial role in differentiating and improving user experiences in software tools, even in developer-oriented and infrastructure tools. He credits their early focus on design to both personal interest and the hiring of a talented designer as one of their initial employees. By prioritizing design, Hex aims to create exuberant and enjoyable software experiences for its users.
In this episode, we chat with Barry McCardel, Co-Founder and CEO of Hex, as he shares how honing his leadership skills in college paved the way for his journey to becoming a founder. Barry discusses building his team with former Palantir colleagues and Hex's emphasis on design from its inception. He shares insights on Hex's rapid feature development, scaling challenges and his vision for the future of data tooling. The episode concludes with Barry's thoughts on emerging trends in data, infrastructure and AI.
Highlights [0:30]: Barry's introduction via Hex's seed round lead investor. [01:15]: Barry's journey leading to his role as a founder, shaped by key experiences. [03:25]: The insights that sparked Barry's creation of Hex. [04:27]: Why Hex embodies the ultimate product Barry wished for at every career juncture. [05:47]: Barry's formation of his founding team, reuniting with former Palantir colleagues. [08:01]: Maintaining a strong focus on design in the early days of Hex and why branding and design is critical. [13:52]: Unveiling Hex 3.0 with its "magic" features, many powered by LLMs. [14:24]: Challenges faced while building internet-scale features with LLMs. [18:17]: Barry's vision for Hex and its future in the industry.
👉 👉 Don't forget to join us at Data Council - where hundreds of data geeks, founders & investors join each other in building the future of data.
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